This morning I consulted with a young woman who had gone through a hysterectomy in her late 20's. Now in her 30's and about 6 years beyond the surgery, she is having significant symptoms. Her personal physician wants to prescribe an anti-depressant to control her hot flashes, but she feels there is more to her condition. Through discussions, she is also experiencing weight gain, irritability, low libido, vaginal dryness, and more. Modern advancements have provided the tools and testing mechanisms to truly find out what the problem is, so why not use them? One such advancement is the use of saliva, urine, blood spot, and serum testing to determine hormonal, neurotransmitter, and adrenal imbalances. NASA has used these 'discoveries' to determine if an astronaut is fit to travel to outer space and back. I know we all can't fly to the moon, but for each of us it's like taking a car to the Auto Shop and having a diagnostic evaluation done. Our vehicle to health is our body and keeping it in tip-top condition is important. You own your body and it won't get you where you want to go, and as far as you could go, if things aren't running at optimum.
Here's some tips that you might find in your Hormone Health Owner's Manual:
Tip #1
Estrogen is like the gas pedal and there are 3 unique kinds: Estriol, Estradiol, and Estrone. Your age, lifestyle, social history, toxin exposure, medical history, weight status, stress level, etc. can all play-in to estrogen levels. Though Estradiol comprises around 10-20% of your levels, it alone controls 80% of the activity in your body. If you're low, you're going to feel it. Rapid aging, dryness, mental fog, irritability, fatigue, and more can be related to your gas pedal malfunctioning.
Tip #2
Progesterone is the brake pedal. It is known to calm things down a bit, keep estrogen in check, and help with sleep, bone health, and emotions. This hormone is most often connected to PMS, infertility, fibrocystic breasts, and absent or sporadic menstrual cycles.
Tip #3
Take control of your stress. Where there is stress (emotional, physical, mental), there is inflammation! Cortisol is the stress stabilizer and secreted to help regulate inflammation and serve as a messenger to the brain telling it the status of the conditions below.
Tip #4
Support your Adrenals. After menopause (natural or surgical) the adrenals take the lead in hormone production. What used to be controlled more-so by the ovaries in women and testes in men, has now become the assumed responsibility of the Adrenal Glands. Our modern lifestyles, diet, and environment are requiring Pit Stops to assure better care of our body. If the adrenals are taxed, so will be the person. Adrenal Fatigue is REAL. If you have it, you'll feel it.
Tip #5
Incorporate Nutraceuticals into your care plan. If you're not doing a core nutrition regimen then START!
B-Complex, Magnesium, Omega Fish Oils, L-Theanine found in green tea, antioxidants, Glucosamine, Calcium, Vitamin D, etc. Proper hormone metabolism is dependent on having the proper nutrient in the proper amount to make things function in the body better.
Tip #6
Get a hormone and adrenal assessment and stop pretending that your symptoms do not exist. If someone tells you it's "normal" to feel a certain way, beware!! If you do not feel your normal self, then it's time for a diagnostic check-up. Did you know that you can have a good assessment done for just $130?
Tip #7
Go to a provider that will listen. If things don't quite seem to add up in your own mind, it might be time to consider an alternate view or opinion. The information is out there, so do your own homework and follow your heart.
You should personally own your health. Have you checked your owners manual to see if things are running as smoothly as possible? I do hope so, but if not, I can provide information and an at-home testing kit to help you in these areas of your health.
To your good health,
Dr. Sonja
